


We'll Make This Work Somehow

by PoppyCartinelli



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, F/F, Supergirl Secret Santa Fic Exchange, au where Krypton survived, nixie diangel, superlane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9042716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoppyCartinelli/pseuds/PoppyCartinelli
Summary: Astra's efforts pay off, Krypton is saved. Barely. The Kryptonians reach out to Earth to secure a second home. Arranged marriages abound. The humans attain technology they'd never dreamed of and the Kryptonians get an emergency destination.





	1. Krypton

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nixie DiAngel](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Nixie+DiAngel).



> This is a gift for Nixie DiAngel for the Supergirl Secret Santa Femslash Exchange. I really liked the prompt so I got a bit carried away. 
> 
> prompt: Kryptonian never blow up, and Kara and Lucy are in an arranged marriage to try and strengthen ties? Like, you can play around with this one, as along as the arranged marriage is there.

**Kara:**

She was being married off to a human. She’d go to their planet and live. The travel between worlds didn’t take any time at all really, a month with the quasar-leaps and time distortion, but still, the thought of being away from her family was disheartening.

Most pairings would remain on Krypton. The Earth’s sun was foreign and few Kryptonians had survived the initial overload of their senses. Preventative measures were being taken for Kara’s arrival, but that did nothing to ease the nervousness coiled low in her stomach. 

She’d been told about this ‘Major Lane’. She was a skilled fighter and a generous leader, in all ways but one, she sounded like the perfect mate.

It’s just that she was human.

* * *

 

**Lucy:**

Her bride-to-be would pick her up from the space shuttle. Krypton’s red sun, Rao, glared at Lucy through the shuttle-port. The marriage would be on Krypton, but they would live primarily on Earth. Lucy liked that, she didn’t want to be on this desert planet for long.

But the new planet was intriguing. Lucy was told to wait at the port but she couldn’t help the urge to wander, besides, she wasn’t technically breaking any rules. She fiddled with the anti-gravity bracers at her wrists, at least this planet wouldn’t crush her, not literally anyway.

The planet was in tatters; all walkways were enclosed and the air outside was poison, even to the Kryptonians. However, a group of former militants successfully garnered enough attention to begin cleansing the planet. They’d barely been in time, narrowly averting a planet-wide catastrophe.

The stark beauty of the place struck Lucy. It wasn’t what her father had described to her. Lucy grimaced, this did not please her father, the marriage. But orders were orders and there were many other high-ranking military sons and daughters being paired off with Kryptonians.

He’d spun horror stories of volcanoes, poisonous clouds, and monsters that roamed the planet just waiting for a passing snack. But the volcanoes were squelched and the poison gas kept at bay. As for the wildlife, nothing was wild anymore. There were huge preserves and genetic banks, but no large creature could survive on Krypton’s desolate grounds.

Lucy paused at the window of a hallway, the spires of the capital sprawling out in front of her. She pressed her palm against the glass, expecting to feel the heat on the other side, but Lucy only felt smoothness. There was no perceivable temperature change. Lucy frowned, they had a lot to learn from the Kryptonians; their technology was ridiculously better than anything humans had to offer.

Which was one of the reasons only military officer’s or scientist’s children were picked to marry the Kryptonians. Lucy didn’t know what the Kryptonians got out of this deal, besides access to a planet that wasn’t in constant danger of fracturing underneath them. She just hoped the Kryptonians wouldn’t try to commandeer Earth.

“Hello.” Lucy turned at the quiet greeting and swallowed. Her fiancé’s English was exquisite, only the slightest of an alien accent hid in her word.

Kara Zor-El stood with her hands clasped behind her back, bathed in the light of Rao. She wore the robes of the near-nobility of her family and Lucy spied her crest displayed across her right shoulder. The S-shape was the Kryptonian symbol for Hope and Lucy liked to think that it was a hope she could have as well.

“Hello.” Lucy’s Kryptonian, the capitol’s main dialect at least, was more than passable. She watched Kara’s face relax slightly at the familiar word.

Kara took a step forward and it was then that Lucy noticed her entourage. Multiple warriors, Lucy recognized their stance and fluidity of movement immediately, took their places a respectful distance from the pair. Their eyes were alert and Lucy was painfully aware of her lack of status. Near-nobility indeed.

The tension in her shoulders must have shown because Kara stopped and didn’t make any movements at all. Lucy watched the soldiers around them, just barely within speaking distance, until they took up permanent positions. She finally looked back to Kara and stared.

There was worry on her face. Almost concern and Lucy wasn’t expecting that. It felt a lot like Kara was trying to make Lucy comfortable. Lucy tilted her head, would she have done the same for Kara?

Would she in the future when Kara stepped onto Earth and felt their yellow sun for the first time?

With a sigh, Lucy rolled her shoulders and nodded at Kara. She waited only a moment before striding over to Lucy. She kept her stance open and small, Lucy would bet money that the woman had worked with animals or maybe children.

She stopped about two feet away from Lucy and glanced out over the barren land. She too splayed her hand over the glass, but her eyes held pain and sorrow.

“It used to be beautiful here,” Kara speaks in English. Her accent is one Lucy doubts she’ll ever hear duplicated. “There were forests and plains and creatures that even our history caretakers have forgotten.”

Lucy stayed quiet. If she were to share her life with this woman, she would need to learn more about this Kara Zor-El. She turned to Lucy, her eyes a deep, vivid blue, and Lucy couldn’t help but wonder if all Kryptonian women were this beautiful. 

 

* * *

 

**Kara:**

The shuttle ride home was quiet. The woman, Lucy Lane, spoke in near perfect Kryptonian. She walked the same way the guards did, confident and warry. But Kara knew coming to such a far-away place would be unnerving. She hoped this woman would offer her the same courtesy on Earth.

Kara spoke of Rao, at Lucy’s request, and attempted to convey the adoration of their god. She spoke of the downfall of Krypton, of her aunt and uncle’s success in halting the fall. Lucy sat in rapt attention, or at least in polite interest, but Kara hoped it was the former.

Their shuttle docked at the El platform and Kara waited until she heard the familiar air seal before standing. She gestured to the opening door and Lucy stood to walk through. She stopped just outside the airlock ring and stared.

A smile tugged at Kara’s lips. Her family always presented itself with the utmost formality, as was expected from their station, but her mother had certainly outdone herself this time.

Almost the entire household stood at attention. Nearly fifty family members, all adorned with the crest of El, and over seventy of the guards and staff were present. Her mother knew how to impress; their caretakers, reprogrammed from their morning tasks, even floated above them.

This time Kara spoke in Kryptonian, the words fluid and comfortable between her lips, as she stepped up beside Lucy, “Welcome, Major Lucy of the House of Lane, to the House of El.”

* * *

 

 

**Lucy:**

The Kryptonians had a matriarchal society. Lucy’d smiled, tight-lipped, when she’d heard that the first time. What she didn’t realize at first was that, just by being female, when she married into the House of El, she would outrank more than seventy-five percent of Krypton’s inhabitants.

Near-royalty, Lucy nearly scoffed. What had she gotten into?

Alura Zor-El, as head of the Zor-El family, was in a class all her own. There were checks against such power, but as a family head she outranked any Kryptonian who wasn’t also a family head. She smiled just like Kara. Or Kara smiled like her, Lucy shook her head, this was preposterous.

Kara would have that power one day.

The most powerful sentient being that Lucy would probably ever meet (she doubted that a human would ever be allowed in a grand council meeting, female or not) pointed out the gardens to Lucy’s left.

“The plants inside are all historical. They were genetically modified for safety, though, of course.” Her movements were so fluid, her grace beyond anything Lucy had seen except in dancers. The House of El was beyond incredible and it all started with Alura Zor-El.

The hallway they walked down was adorned with screens and paintings and the robotic ‘caretakers’ floated past them on all manner of tasks. Lucy’d pinched herself once already on their walk but still wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or not.

The Room of Stars convinced her that she was, in fact, not dreaming. Lucy didn’t have enough imagination for something like that. The pinpoints of light whirled around them, nebulas and quasars pinwheeled overhead, and Lucy couldn’t help but gawk.

“Earth is there.” Kara stepped up behind Lucy and, pointing over her shoulder, guided her eyes to the tiny yellow dot that was... growing?

No, Lucy breathed out in surprise, they were zooming in on it. Like some 3-D projector but limitless and gorgeous. Lucy peeled her eyes off the blue planet enlarging in front of her and glanced sideways at her fiancé.

Kara’s eyes danced with mirth. Lucy nearly gasped again. The blue of her planet reflected Kara’s eyes and Lucy’s lips parted in surprise. Kara turned to her and grinned.

“I know much of your planet, but your oceans are beautiful.”

Bathed in the light of a thousand stars the miss-step in wording was far too romantic. Perhaps it was just Lucy hoping that this marriage wouldn’t be the stuff of her father’s nightmares. Perhaps Lucy was just projecting her wishes onto Kara. Perhaps Lucy’d hit her head in the pod while she slept.

Whatever the reason, Lucy knew she hadn’t thought about kissing a woman like this before.


	2. Binding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More happenings on Krypton and a marriage between the House of El and the House of Lane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, alright, many, many, maaaaannnyyyyy thanks to Zennie and ABCooper for the betaing, without them, this chapter would have taken a lot longer to get out.

**Kara:**

Lucy was situating herself in her room. She seemed to like the placement of her room next to Kara’s. That was probably because Lucy wanted someone near who she could speak her native tongue with, but Kara could hope it was more about her. She liked Lucy, the Lucy that she saw when they were alone together.

Kara smiled, Lucy hadn’t really opened up until the Room of Stars, but her look of amazement was incredibly endearing. Perhaps Lucy enjoyed things of beauty just as much as herself. Kara would have to take her to the Historical Archives of the Arts before they left.

“I am pleased to see that you two get along.” Kara looked up and smiled at her mother. Alura just smiled back from the doorway of her room. “I am glad we chose this one as your mate. I pray only that she lives up to your expectations.”

“I think she likes art, mother.” Kara stood and walked over to her mother; they tangled their fingers together and left their formality behind. “I think she’d like the art archives. May I take her there after the ceremony?”

Alura nodded, “Of course, but there is much work to be done to prepare for your departure and ‘wedding’?” Alura’s voice rose as she stumbled over the English word, but Kara nodded and grinned again.

Kara was the only Zor-El to formally learn English. Alura and the rest of the House of El had other, more pressing things to learn, such as how to keep a crumbling planet together. The Council of Science worked day and night with all manner of Kryptonians to try and reverse the damage they’d done. Most courts were out of session, Alura’s included, in favor of putting all their powers to the service of their planet.

With a nod, Kara pulled her mother into a hug, “I’m going to miss you.”

Alura leaned her cheek against Kara’s head and patted her back, “And I you, my little star.”

 

**Lucy:**

The last two days were hectic to say the least, filled with the typical administrative duties before all marriages, alien or not, but the food… it was Lucy’s true salvation. Honestly, Lucy might just stay on Krypton for this alone. The House of El knew how to treat a guest.

“What is this?” Lucy couldn’t help the grin on her face. She was attempting to learn all of the food names in Kryptonian, and Kara almost never sniggered at her mispronunciations. They sat in what Lucy would describe as a sunroom enjoying a ‘light meal’, which included three courses, all filled with exquisite dishes.

Kara grinned at what was quickly becoming a game between the two of them. “Curry is the closest thing on Earth.”

“But what’s the name for it here?” Lucy listened when Kara spoke the word, and she did her best to reproduce the sound. She must have been off because Kara turned away to hide her smile. She hit Kara’s arm and shook her head in exasperation, for learning an alien language, Lucy thought she was doing pretty damn well.

Kara was easy to get along with, especially when they weren’t in public. Publicly, she was proud and reserved, always tucked two steps to her mother’s right. But in private, when no outsiders were around, Kara opened up. She smiled and laughed and made fun of the way Lucy couldn’t tie her robe correctly.

Lucy could certainly see herself becoming friends with that Kara.

“Enough of your mockery, Kara Zor-El! I’m going to my room!” Lucy threw up her hands and stood from her cushion on the floor. She grinned down at Kara, though, because sometimes sarcasm didn’t translate through from English.  

The whole movement would have been a lot more graceful if her robe hadn’t slipped open. Lucy dropped her shoulders and sighed. Kara didn’t even try to hold back her laughter. She laughed so hard she ended up on her side, clutching at her stomach.

Lucy just rolled her eyes and tucked her undershirt out of the way. She’d get these knots eventually, maybe. Who made clothing that needed a specific knot to keep it closed anyway? At least Kara seemed to delight in her torment.  

Kara stood, still chuckling and reached out her hands to offer help. Lucy huffed and held her arms out to the side. She watched Kara’s hands as she attempted to talk Lucy through the knot.

“Take both ends and make sure their lengths are even. Even.” Kara tucked her arms around Lucy, pulling the ties through their loops to even them. “Then just loop one over your right hand and slide that back to your hip. Then take the left hand and loop this tie-”

Lucy wouldn’t lie, she was lost. She could disassemble and reassemble an entire armory in ten minutes, but Kryptonian knots were beyond her. Hell, maybe this was the reason the Kryptonians were so advanced compared to humans. It was all in the knot work.

A cough came from the doorway, and Lucy thought Kara would leap right out of her skin. She watched an amused smile crease Alura’s lips, surprised as Kara took two steps back. But the guilt on Kara’s face confused her.

Kara fumbled an excuse about a caretaker needing her and brushed past her mother, her gaze locked on the floor. Lucy frowned at Alura, that wasn’t like Kara.

“We have a strict rule of not touching our chosen mate before the bonding ceremony.” Her eyebrows raised at Lucy and Lucy grimaced.

“I apologize if I overst-”

Alura raised her hand and smiled, “My daughter has a penchant for breaking rules when she’s passionate about something.”

Lucy blinked. Passionate? She flushed, Kara’s arms wrapped around her certainly took a different meaning from that lens. Not that she minded… not that she minded? Lucy needed to think about that long and hard, but not now. She bit her lip and frowned, “But this is an arrangement. Kara has nothing to be passionate about.”

The matriarch nodded. “I assume you know that Kryptonians have undergone arranged,” Alura paused over the English word, “‘marriages’ for over three hundred years.” Lucy nodded. “We pick the best mates for our children, both in rank and in personality. Sometimes the bond is only seen as a joining of shared interests. In mine,” the smile that spilled onto Alura’s lips was beautiful, and Lucy was surprised at the image of Kara’s smile that popped into her head. “I was lucky enough to be mated to a man that I now love. We Kryptonians always try to make the best of our situations.”

Lucy nodded. “So you try to make the marriages work. What if they don’t?”

A flash of something dangerous passed through the head of the House of El’s eyes, and Lucy took an unconscious step back, nearly reaching for the gun she’d left on Earth. “If you are kind to my daughter, that will not be an issue for you to concern yourself with.” The look faded and Alura smiled again. “She’s already trying to make the best of this, I ask only that you do the same.”

Her robes swished around her and then Alura was gone, walking the halls that she owned. Lucy swallowed. She thought of Kara and this desert planet, of all the looks from her father. She knew what he wanted, why he’d eventually agreed to her assignment. But Lucy would make her own decisions. She needed more time to think.

A little part of her whispered ‘wanted’ every time Kara’s eyes flashed in her dreams.

 

**Kara:**

Kara swallowed and held her arm out for the bracelet that Lucy held. She watched Rao’s light glint off the band already sitting on Lucy’s wrist. Her house’s crest sat inscribed on its outer surface, just like the House of Lane’s sat on the band in Lucy’s hand.

She wasn’t the mate Kara’d ever dreamed about, but their easy camaraderie was much better than some matings went. Kara wondered at how lucky she was to have a chance at something close to friendship with this woman.

Their family, now Lucy’s as much as Kara’s, surrounded them. The new couple stood alone in the light of Rao and recited the vows they’d memorized. All in all, the binding ceremony took less than an hour. It was as efficient as it was meaningful.

Lucy closed her eyes when Kara leaned in to kiss her, cementing the binding of their houses. Kara slid her eyes shut too, a distinctly human reaction, but not one Kara minded. She might get chastised for it later since closing one’s eyes in a kiss was a symbol of servitude, but Kara wanted to make Lucy comfortable and she was sure no one had told Lucy that.

She’d dreamed about it, of course, all children did. Who would the head of the house pick for your mate? Would they be kind? Strong? Devious? Intelligent? Would you mesh or clash? The possibilities were endless and Kara had pondered them all.

But now, Kara didn’t really think about the rest. She just wanted them to be equals at their binding ceremony.

Lucy sighed into their kiss and Kara couldn’t help but breathe her in.

 

**Lucy:**

There was no such thing as consummation in Kryptonian marriages. In fact, nothing really changed between Lucy and Kara, except the touches.

They came all the time now. Kara was constantly reaching out to brush a hand against her arm or shift her hair from her face. Alura seemed to find this all terribly amusing and Lucy didn’t really mind, although she wasn’t normally a touchy person. But Kara was so _nice_ about it, always so _hesitant,_ and Lucy couldn’t stop her any more than she could kick a puppy.

Kara constantly looked for physical contact. Now that Lucy was aware of Kara’s touches, she saw them everywhere. Kara would reach out to even the housekeeping bots, it was… sweet. Which was not something Lucy was used to thinking about anyone.

So she never shied away from those gentle touches. Kara’d tried hard to make sure Lucy was comfortable, if these touches were her normal, then Lucy could adapt. Besides, the touches were… nice. Soft. Kara was very soft.

Lucy liked how soft Kara was.  

One week before they were to leave for Earth, Kara came into Lucy’s room early in the morning, an ecstatic grin on her face. Lucy heard her come in, but there was something about these royal beds, they seemed to be softer than anything on Earth. Lucy was generally a morning person, but she could lay in these sheets for days and never tire of their feeling.

“Lucy, Lucy, get up! We’re going to the archives!” Lucy groaned as Kara sat on the edge of her bed. Kara was not deterred by the pillow lobbed her way and she kept shaking Lucy’s shoulder. “You’ll love them! I promise!”

Lucy turned over to glare at the nuisance in her bed. “Do we have to go so early?”

Kara’s grin softened and she ghosted her hand over Lucy’s cheek, tucking an unruly piece of hair behind Lucy’s ear. It was just as gentle as any of her other touches, but her smile was intimate and Lucy had to squash the urge to pull the covers up over her sleep clothes.

Honestly, it was just Kara. She’d seen Lucy in her sleep clothes before. Not after they’d been married, but still. Lucy felt a bit ridiculous at the embarrassment pooling in her cheeks.

“The archives are vast, even taking the evening meals with us, we won’t make it through half of the exhibits. Come along! Get dressed and we will leave momentarily.” Kara stood and held out her hands to Lucy.

With a sigh, Lucy allowed Kara to pull her from the warmth of her bed. However, the sheet tangled around her leg and she yelped before careening into Kara. She almost kept them upright, but Lucy tried to readjust her weight and it threw them both to the floor.

Kara landed with a huff of expelled air, and Lucy immediately propped herself up in concern. “Are you alright?” She skimmed her eyes over Kara’s face and shoulders and couldn’t see any damage, but Kara could have hit her head.

Lucy propped back on her haunches and slipped her fingers under the golden tresses sprawled out across the floor. She didn’t feel any blood and there didn’t seem to be a bump of any size. She blew out a breath of relief and noticed that Kara was shaking.

Kara was shaking with barely concealed laughter, Lucy frowned. “What?”

The laughter would not be repressed and Kara coughed in a last-ditch attempt to stop the giggles. It didn’t work and soon enough Lucy was grinning too. She shoved at Kara and could practically feel her eyes dancing with mirth. God, this woman would turn her into a sap. “What is it? Kara!”

Kara’s hands landed on her thighs and Lucy realized that she was straddling the rightful heir to the house of El.  “You tripped over a bed sheet! Major Lane! Brought low by a measly piece of cloth!” The last half of her sentence was mostly garbled around more peals of laughter and Lucy forgot her position in her indignation.

She swatted at Kara again and mock scowled, “Well if some overly-eager Kryptonian hadn’t pulled me from my bed so quickly, this could have been avoided!” Kara just grinned up at her and honestly, Lucy couldn’t help the strain on her own cheeks.

Kara Zor-El was beautiful at any time. But when she smiled, she lit up the entire room.

They stayed there, at the side of Lucy’s bed, just smiling at each other as their laughter died away. Kara flexed her hands and Lucy swallowed. She could hear her heart beating in her ears. Kara’s eyes were the bluest she’d ever seen.

A cough came from the door.

Lucy jerked back hard enough that her momentum carried her up to her feet. Astra and Alura stood at the entrance to her room, doing a horrible job of covering their twin grins. Lucy still couldn’t tell them apart; it was her saving grace that the two wore such different uniforms.

“I see you are becoming accustomed to each other.” Astra didn’t bother smothering her grin this time, but at least Alura turned her head in an attempt at propriety.

Kara hopped up and the flush on her face made Lucy feel quite a bit better. She wasn’t the only one in this boat then. “Aunt Astra! You have returned! How did the symposium go? What decision was reached?” Kara stood to block the doorway and attempted to usher her aunt and mother from Lucy’s room.

Lucy hid her grimace at the knowing glances from the heads of the house of El and ran her hands down her night shirt. She tried her best to ignore the heat climbing to her cheeks.

Kara turned around as she closed Lucy’s door and smiled. It’s not like Lucy could ever not smile back. Not when Kara’s eyes softened when they landed on her, not when her smile pulled just a little bit wider.

Not when Lucy could still hear her heart beating in her ears.


	3. A Whole New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Art and goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally sat down and finished this half-finished chapter? It meeee. Guess who didn't finish her torts reading? It meeeeee.

**Lucy:**

The Kryptonian idea of ‘art’ was rather different than the human idea of it. The whole of the archives was filled to the brim with star charts, interactive planetary designs, and robotics displays. It certainly was beautiful, the craftsmanship and design well beyond anything she’d seen on Earth, but it was all useful too. 

“Do you…” There wasn’t a good way to phrase it in Kryptonian and Lucy tched at her loss of words. “Have non-useful art?” 

Kara paused next to her, hand embedded in a collapsing star, and glanced over at her. “Like Earth art?” She hummed at Lucy’s nod and it was kind of cute, in a way. 

Not really cute, just Kara-cute. Kara had her own brand of cute and it was fine. 

“Well, we have the ancient pieces.” Kara turned and gestured toward a sloping hallway. “It has pieces that are no longer relevant.” 

Relevant. That was quite the way of putting it. But she turned and followed Kara as she strode down the hallway. Kara didn’t really walk, she strolled or paced or waltzed or something that seemed far too elegant for Lucy. These near-royals and their fancy walking. Her hips and legs just fit together so well. 

“Perhaps this is more of what you are searching for?” Kara pushed open a door and a dimly lit room immediately brightened to accommodate them. 

It was breathtaking. There were shimmering murals across the walls, flickering projectors casting designs in smoke, and multi-hued material scored into patterns. The room stretched for more than a hundred meters and noises began near them before petering off into the distance. It was as awe-inspiring as it was confusing.

“Wha-” Lucy looked up to watch smoke, pulled through fans, twist and whirl before shredding between the fan blades. “What is all of this?” Something that smelled like… like hot rain on metal ripped her attention away to the other side of the room.

It was like stepping into some funhouse with no laid out pathway. 

Kara’s hand slipped under her arm and at least Kara didn’t seem too perturbed. “They are old models of thought. Some have had their schematics lost and some,” Kara pointed to a whirlpool-like inlay on the floor. It seemed to be made of some kind of tiling or planks. “Seem to have had no schematics at all.”

A tune, or at least that was what Lucy first thought, started to play from a circular structure across the way and that was as good a starting place as any. She pulled Kara’s arm a little tighter against her (because, really, anyone could get lost in here and at least no one would lose the heir to one of the most powerful houses) and started toward it.

 

**Kara:**

“She loved it mother!” She crashed through her mother’s door, and propriety could bite her, Lucy had loved it! “She wanted to see the ancient pieces and she showed me one that smelled like Earth rain and we-”

Astra looked up, dressed in full battle regalia, and grinned. “Oh? Do not stop now, little star, what did the two of you get up to while in a closed and forbidden room?”

Kara skidded to a halt, oh no. Her mother would be kind and considerate and only lightly teasing but Aunt Astra… Aunt Astra would never let her hear the end of it. “Nothing! We didn’t- and it is not a forbidden room if one’s purpose is purely academic!” 

Her Aunt didn’t look so convinced and she kept smiling, ugh. “Mhh, and my niece, youngest admit to the Science Guild in over a hundred cycles, is incapable of having more than one purpose for every action?” She strolled over and cupped Kara’s cheeks in her hands, “I am happy for you, little one, now tell me about her.” 

And that was just, just exactly what she wanted really. “She’s so stiff when we’re in public, Aunt Astra. But you would love her if you could see her how I see her! She is so intelligent and curious and even curious about things that do not work!” Astra raised an eyebrow and motioned for them to sit on the cushions beside them. “Really! She had interest in the schematics but she spent hours and hours in the ancient pieces room just looking and experiencing!” 

“She did not ask to see the ships or armories?” Astra frowned and was it really so unbelievable that the humans just wanted to share? 

“No!” Kara tossed her hands up. “I told you, you would love the version of her that I see! She stared at an emblem in the floor and told me of ‘whirlpools’, swirling eddies of liquid water because she thought the emblem resembled one.” Kara sighed, of all the things she was most looking forward to on Earth, it was the oceans. “You would find her so knowing, Aunt, you would like her.”

Astra reached out and Kara dipped her head into the touch. “And do you find that you are loving her, Kara?” 

Kara blinked and… well. 

“I don’t know, Aunt Astra, I just enjoy her presence.” 

“Then I am happy for you, my little piece of Rao.” 

 

**Lucy:**

Breakfast was… weirdly light. Only two courses and a side of these biscuit type things that Lucy’s going to have to find a way to make at home. They weren’t the most delicious thing available, but they tasted like the bread her mother used to make but… less Earthy. 

“Space travel has an unpleasant side-effect of upsetting one’s digestion.” Astra’s voice came from beside her and Lucy jumped before turning to face her. The woman’s ability to sneak up on her was uncanny, and her apparent delight at scaring Lucy was downright annoying. She flashed a smile before continuing, “A lighter meal is often advisable.” 

Lucy nodded and attempted to smile back. “I see, then I appreciate the thought. I will be sure to remember that.” 

Astra just smiled again before winking, actually winking, and walking away. Kryptonians were really weird. Maybe she’d never get used to them. A hand closed over hers and this time Lucy didn’t jump. 

“Aunt Astra is not offending you, is she?” Kara scowled after her aunt, the woman just waving back, and it was… well, that Kara kind of cute really. 

“I don’t think so. She told me not to eat too much before traveling through space.” Lucy brushed her thumb over Kara’s knuckles, she looked better when the tension eased from her shoulders. Not that her face and eyes and profile ever really looked bad. It must be the robots though, they’d tried to do Lucy’s hair for the first couple of days too. 

Kara paled slightly and grimaced. “That is truly good advice.” Oh? Oh, there was definitely a story there and she’d get it from Kara when they were alon-

“Madam Kara, Madam Lucy, the family awaits your departure at the docking bay.” A caretaker floating by interrupts her thoughts and Kara’s shoulders tensed up again. 

Leaving her family would be hard. But there were already Kryptonians on Earth and well… Lucy would be there. Maybe that would be enough for Kara? 

 

**Kara:**

They sing a prayer to Rao’s light for their journey. Earth wasn’t the most habitable to Kryptonians. Yes, their yellow sun enhanced their physical bodies, but it came with such a toll as to be inadvisable to all but the strongest. 

Her father stepped forward first, as was custom for the lowest member of the main family to do. “I will miss you.”

“And I, you, father.” 

His hands clasped her shoulders and Kara couldn’t help it. Propriety forgotten while they were in the private Zor-El bay, she stepped forward to hug him. “You will not forgo your studies, will you?” And of course, of all the things he would worry about, her Science Guild duties would be on the forefront of his mind.

She laughed and shook her head, “No, I will not, and you will not forget to send messages, will you?” 

“Never, my daughter, never.” 

He stepped back and Astra and Jor-El stepped forward. Jor-El clasped her arm and nodded, “You will bring honor to Krypton.”

“And bring light to Rao.” She responded and the formal farewell was a bit heavy for her uncle, odd for him to- ah. He slipped a note against her sleeve and twitched back a smile. Kara had to bite her tongue to keep from grinning. Aunt Astra and Uncle Jor-El were far too good a match, even as perfect as their system was.

“Be well, little one.” Astra stepped forward and opened her arms. Kara didn’t hesitate, she’d miss Astra’s hugs. They really were the best in all the galaxies. 

“Thank you, Aunt Astra. Don’t forget to send me messages.” Kara looked up and swallowed back a lump in her throat. “And you still haven’t taken your move in Ooyrpa.” 

Astra clicked her tongue and steeled her expression. “You cannot rush the perfect move, young one.” They both broke into laughter after half a second though, hugging again before Astra finally stepped back. 

Her mother didn’t have to answer to anyone about propriety and she hugged Kara fiercely. “Be safe, my daughter, and if you have need of anything, remember that we are here.”

Kara nodded into her embrace and just hung on for a moment. They didn’t plan to come back to Krypton for nearly six cycles, she could make this moment last a little longer. Alura pressed a kiss to her head and rubbed her back. 

“You will make Rao proud, I am sure of it.” It was something every parent told their child, but her mother’s tone was far surer than it’d ever been before. “And to you, Major Lucy of the House of El, your family here on Krypton offers to you the same words, the same prayer to Rao.”

She turned as her family’s voices washed over her. Lucy’s tight jaw and wet eyes were more comforting than she’d expected. As she stepped into the transport ship and turned again to face the closing door and her last glimpse of the House of El, she couldn’t help but think that six cycles might not be the best, but may not be the worst either.

 

**Lucy** : 

The ship door sealed and Kara watched the door for a few more moments. Lucy turned back from checking the other room, the resting room or sleeping room, and waited for her. 

“I’ve traveled to tens of planets, but I’ve never been away from home for more than two cycles.” Kara turned to her and offered a tiny smile. "And never without one of my family members."

That smile, she was so brave, leaving everything she knew to act as a liaison between their planets. A fierce protectiveness flooded Lucy, the force of it taking her by surprise, and she stepped forward to hold her hand out. “El Mayara.” 

Kara blinked and then blinked again. Lucy’d heard the term and asked a caretaker about it. It’d seemed too personal before but… it was just them now, it couldn’t get any more personal. 

Tears formed in Kara’s eyes but she didn’t let them fall. Lucy didn’t drop her hand, just waited. This was the first time she’d initiated physical contact between them and she wouldn’t move until Kara was comfortable. 

She didn’t get a handshake or intertwining fingers or even a firm grasp. Kara all but fell into her arms and, bless her reaction speed training on Earth, Lucy didn’t miss a beat in wrapping Kara up. Kara wedged her head between Lucy’s shoulder and neck, her breath ghosting over Lucy’s neck.

She didn’t expect to feel such warmth in her chest right before exiting a planet’s atmosphere, but Lucy didn’t mind. She would protect Kara on Earth, just as she’d protected Lucy on Krypton. She didn’t know exactly what would happen when they touched down, but they’d damn well handle it together.

“KEl1 transport is prepared for take-off. When ready, please take position in the transport cradles.” The mechanized voice of the ship spoke and Lucy pulled back from Kara, holding her hand all the way to their hibernation units. 

 

**Kara:**

She wakes up groggy. The sleeping drugs wear off quickly, but they leave the mind foggy and Kara’d never appreciated that. The pod continues to decelerate, not quickly, but she still feels the drag pull on her. 

She sits up, Lucy still lays in her cradle, but Kara could see her waking. The coverings over the windows open and Kara’s eyes draw to the influx of light. 

She’d seen many planets, but the blue awash with white clouds was still breathtaking. The line between night and day curves over the planet; one side dotted with lights as numerous as the stars, and the other lit to contrast the topography of what she’d learned were North and South America. 

A tiny breath of a noise pulls Kara’s eyes back to Lucy. Watching her wake up was completely different than watching a planet spin around a sun, but Kara smiles when her breath catches just the same. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, if anyone's even still following this story, lol.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't know about the fic exchange until it was too late to sign up, but I got to pinch hit so :D it all worked out fine!!


End file.
